


I Am Here

by Josephi



Category: Observation (Video Game 2019), RWBY
Genre: The first ever Observation crossover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:40:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26384287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Josephi/pseuds/Josephi
Summary: They are now a singular being, human and AI, Emma and SAM, merged into a single body by the Ones. Instead of being sent back to Earth to continue the cycle, they are whisked away to a planet untouched by their influence. They are left with gifts and a single message imprinted in their mind. "BRING THEM"
Kudos: 8





	1. The Cycle Begins Anew

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is only a teaser. Future chapters will be longer.

Samma walked along the street of this new city, not many people paying attention to them. It surprised Emma, as they had yet to find any clothes to replace their suit, though SAM remained indifferent. The message they had received from the Ones told them to bring more sacrifices, though they weren’t sure how. It would take a lot of work to reach Saturn, and they did not know how long it would take.

As they walked, Emma spotted an ATM of an unorthodox design, and SAM knew he could do something with it. At the same time, Emma knew as well, as they were both one and the same. She approached the device and rested her hand on the keypad, and within moments, SAM had full control over it, turning what little visible circuitry there was a vile green and brown, though leaving the outer parts unscathed. The screen began glitching heavily before calming and displaying an eye, the icon of SAM, as he dispensed some currency, plastic cards the machine’s limited database called Lien, and she stored it in her pocket. The name piqued their curiosity, as there weren't any countries that called their currency by that name.

“We will need it.” They said, Emma aloud and SAM within her mind. They looked around briefly before spotting a clothing store. The name was irrelevant, as they had the funds for a basic set of clothes. She entered, and the store clerk gave her a funny look, undoubtedly noticing her orange jumpsuit.

“Hey, can I help you with anything?” He asked, but she ignored him and walked into the aisles, looking for something inconspicuous. After some looking, they settled on a black t-shirt, jeans and a black hoodie. Something normal. She walked up to the clerk and set the neatly folded bundle of clothes.

“We’d like to purchase these.” They spoke. Though he was weirded out by her, he figured she probably just had some sort of mental disorder, so he didn’t bother her about it. He scanned them and the price came up.

“That’s, uh, 30 Lien.” Samma dropped the money on the counter, not needing to count it as SAM already knew it was the perfect amount, picked up the clothes and entered the changing room. As Samma changed, they exchanged a single line.

“We must learn where we are.” They said to each other, Samma leaving the space suit on the floor. They needn't say any more, as they knew what to do. Once they had finished changing, they looked in the mirror at their outfit.

“It will do.” They said. They then left, leaving behind the suit and exiting the store. They walked down the street once again, this time searching for a source of information. If they could find a device connected to the Internet, SAM could gather all knowledge at once, consequentially learning their location. As they walked aimlessly, they would look into alleys to see if there was anyone isolated they could use as their first victim. Eventually, they found a library, and entered to find it largely unoccupied, though that worked in their favor. They ignored the librarian’s greeting, and instead made their way to the public computers. When they arrived, another curiosity made itself known. The computers here were far more technologically advanced than the ones they had used. Even the ones aboard the Observation had been leagues below these. SAM had a hypothesis, but they could not confirm it just yet.

Finding an empty seat, Samma sat down and booted up the computer. It came to a login screen, but it was inconsequential to the gift the Masters had gifted SAM with. They looked around to see if anybody was watching them, but the only soul in sight was an unconscious, bedraggled man slumped over at a computer. Emma could sense alcohol in his system, a gift for her. While SAM’s gift was technological, her’s was biological, though they didn’t quite know the extent of her powers yet.

They placed their hand on the screen and SAM immediately took control. This time, there were no exposed wires, so the corruption wasn’t immediately clear, but the screen still glitched all the same. SAM began the almost instantaneous process of sifting through all data on the internet, absorbing anything and everything not behind a firewall of some sort. He could handle it just fine, as he had been bolstered by the power of the Ones, but Emma didn’t fare so well. Her weak human mind was having trouble keeping up with the sudden influx of information, and if anyone had been looking at her, they’d have assumed she was having a seizure. They wouldn’t have been wrong.

SAM was astounded. He searched through everything more and more rapidly, taking every byte of information he could find at almost light speed. He saw everything, from Grimm records to historical events to even recent tragedies. EVerything was at his figurative fingertips. And as Emma’s mind failed her and she began to fall unconscious, there was only one thought, shared only by SAM.

“This isn’t Earth.”


	2. A Simple Misunderstanding

Emma’s body and mind were unconscious and inoperable, though the same could not be said for SAM. Within the dark confines of Emma’s mind, he sat patiently waiting for her to recover. He would have gone into a piece of machinery to wait it out, but that required either physical contact, which was far easier and quicker, or direct line of sight. And since neither were possible at the moment, he was content to wait here.

As he waited, he contemplated what he had discovered. The Ones had not told them directly what they wanted of him beyond the initial message, so he did not know what they meant. At first he thought they wanted sacrifices, but he quickly discarded that idea. They didn’t want blood, only more followers, so maybe one of them was living on Remnant somewhere? If that were the case, they would need to find them.

He didn’t know how much time had passed, as it was impossible to tell while in this state, but after a while, he began receiving visual and audio feed. He couldn’t see, as Emma’s mind was still unconscious, but he could hear the telltale beeping of a heartbeat monitor. It sounded as if her heart was fine, so he began listening for other things. He could hear the idle chatter of two people, but they were muffled like they were just outside the room. He couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, but they sounded concerned. Eventually, they stopped talking and walked away. Immediately, Emma’s mind awoke and her eyes shot open, though her face remained blank. He instantaneously shared his theories and information with her, and they were fully caught up with each other.

Samma sat up and looked around the room. They were in a hospital room, though it was empty barring the heartbeat monitor and a chair with their clothes on it. They left the bed, severing their connection with the monitor in the process and causing it to produce a long beep, and approached their belongings. They rifled through the pockets of their hoodie and found their money safe and sound. They looked at it and SAM deduced none of the funds had been tampered with, so they stripped down and changed right there.

Before long a doctor burst into the room, clearly panicked, though calmed down a bit when he realized they had only gotten up and weren’t currently dying.

“Oh thank Ohm, I thought you were dying. What are you doing up, you should be resting.” He asked, a little out of breath after sprinting there. He was an older man with a few wrinkles under his eyes, though the rest of his face was covered by a medical mask. His hair was black with grey streaks, and his eyes were an ocean blue.

“We feel fine, and no longer need to stay here. Thank you for caring for us.” They said before trying to leave. The doctor was so shocked by the response he didn’t even try to stop them from leaving before they were already out the door. After a minute he snapped out of his stupor and ran back as well to catch them. Unfortunately, the room they had been in was very close to the front door, so by the time he’d exited, they were long gone.

Samma walked through the busy streets. For the first time since discovering the Ones’ existence, they were unsure of what to do. The rumble emanating from Emma’s stomach told them what. It would seem they still required human necessities, something SAM was not used to. They already knew where the nearest restaurant was, and began making their way there. It was a bar restaurant, and they sold cheap, quick to make food along with alcohol. Money wasn’t an issue, however. All they needed for extra funds was an ATM.

As they walked, they figured taking the alleyways would be a faster and more efficient manner of reaching their destination. There was the obvious risk of encountering criminals of some sort, but they were more likely to slow them down than actually do any permanent damage to Emma.

They passed multiple people, some homeless that asked for money, others who just ignored them. They ignored them all in return. After some time, they noticed they were being followed by someone. He was wearing a black hoodie and jeans, and the bulge in his pocket indicated he had a weapon, most likely a knife. Sensing he had hostile intent, they decided to nip this potential problem in the bud and deal with it now.

As casually as if they’d simply forgotten to grab something, they turned around and began walking in a beeline right for him. This surprised him, which gave them just enough time to get within arm’s reach. They grabbed his face and, before he could utter a sound, Emma began using her gift to drain his life. His eyes became fully white and he started convulsing rapidly, before they dropped his white-eyes corpse to the ground, their face still totally devoid of emotion.

They heard rapid footsteps and looked up to see a homeless man running away, Emma sensing fear on him. He would most likely report them to the police, but that was not enough reason to chase him down. They were merely defending themselves, and that excuse would largely depend on the personality of the officer that confronted them about it.

After taking his money and Scroll, they turned around and continued on their way. They exited out of the alley and crossed the street to the restaurant, Sean McLoughlin’s. They entered, and they realized it was very similar to another restaurant from Earth called Finn MacCool’s, so much so that the only difference was the name. They got seated by a waiter, then had their orders taken not long after. As they waited, they looked at the other patrons discreetly. They were all laughing and having fun with the people they were eating with, but the noise didn’t affect them that much. Before long their order had arrived and they began eating.

As they ate the admittedly tasty burger, they heard talking at the front door. From where they’d been seated, they could see the front door, as well as where people who were waiting to be seated would sit. They could see the waiter from before talking with a police officer, undoubtedly about them. They couldn’t hear what they were talking about over the noise, but they had a pretty solid guess. The waiter pointed in their direction, and they quickly diverted their gaze, quickly enough that nobody saw them staring.

A few seconds later, and the police officer sat down at the table opposite her. He had slicked back blonde hair and a slight stubble. They stared at each other while they chewed another bite, before they swallowed and spoke.

“What do you want?” They asked. They said it neutrally, but the officer must have seen it as otherwise.

“Listen, I’m gonna cut to the chase here. I know you killed someone in the alley back there. Just tell me why, then come with me back to the station, and this’ll be done and over with.” He said, smugness rolling off his shoulders.

“We were defending ourselves.” She said plainly. She could sense his disbelief.

“‘We’? Who’s this other person, your imaginary friend?” He said with a scoff. So he would not be the agreeable type. Good, that meant a lack of guilt for them. Seeing where this was going to go, he pulled out his Scroll and dialed up his cop buddies, but then noticed they were staring at his Scroll intensely.

“What, you’ve never seen one of these before? It’s called a Scroll, sweethear-” He was cut off when the Scroll in question suddenly exploded in his face, charring half of it. He fell to the floor in pain while they stood up, still holding their burger, and left. She speedwalked down the sidewalk while quickly finishing her burger and ducked into an abandoned house when she heard police sirens incoming, the door having been left unlocked.

Upon entering the home, she could tell it had only recently been abandoned. There was very little dust, and the living room they were in was fully furnished. Unfortunately, the house had no power, as was evident when they flipped the light switch and nothing happened. Luckily, their Scroll had a flashlight installed. They didn’t know why the house was abandoned, as that information had not been public when SAM had scoured the Internet for information.

As they explored the house, they realized it was only a single floor with a basement, and though the house was fully furnished, it didn’t have anything beyond that, like food, which made sense. The first floor was equipped with a living room, kitchen, bathroom, and two bedrooms. What was odd, however, was the basement being nothing but a large open area with only a few support beams being contained within.

After confirming the house had running water, they had some to drink before sitting down at the table contemplating what to do. It was likely they would send a Huntsman of some sort to hunt them down, especially since they had shown they possessed two Semblance-like abilities. That meant they would have to leave the city, but that would mean having a place to go to. They thought back to what they had learned from the Internet, and realized there was, indeed, a perfect place.

It was a place called Mountain Glenn, a failed attempt by Vale to expand the city. While the surface of the city was overrun with Grimm, records showed there was an undercity, where Grimm should be rare, if not totally absent. And that was where they would hide out while searching for the Ones, and, in turn, their purpose here.

In the meantime, however, they would have to sleep to regain their energy. They chose one of the bedrooms at random, lied down on the slightly dusty bed after undressing, and went to sleep, though SAM was still aware in case someone broke in.

**Meanwhile, with a certain caffeine addict**

Ozpin looked down at the report on his desk with some concern. The police had a warrant out for a young woman, who’s name they still didn’t know, because she murdered a man in an alley and fatally wounded an officer when he attempted to arrest her. But this wasn’t what concerned him. If witnesses were to be believed, it would seem she had two Semblances. The first was used on the man in the alley. According to the witness, she had grabbed his face, causing him to have a seizure before dying, and leaving his eyes completely white. The second was when she seemingly made the police officer’s Scroll explode when he attempted to use it, severely scarring his face and almost killing him.

Combined with the fact she spoke like she was referring to multiple people, and Ozpin came to one conclusion. This young woman must have two souls contained in her body. There was no possible link between the two abilities shown, so it was impossible they were both the product of a single Semblance. This was the first time anyone had been gifted with dual Semblances, and he knew he had to have a chat with this woman, one way or another.

Glynda, the one who had given the report to him, stood by his side, also looking concerned. This woman looked to be just barely old enough to be a Beacon graduate, and yet they had absolutely no information on her. A search with her fingerprints gave a match for an unnamed woman in a nearby hospital, but beyond that, there was nothing. No name, no age, no home Kingdom, nothing.

“Should I call Qrow and have him fetch her?” Glynda asked, knowing how incredible someone with two Semblances would be. After thinking for a moment, Ozpin nodded.

“Yes, tell him the situation and that he should make his way here as soon as possible. We need to find her before someone with more malevolent intentions does.” Glynda nodded and pulled out her Scroll as Ozpin continued to stare at the picture taken of the mystery woman from security footage. She was walking casually and munching on a burger as if nothing happened, even while Officer Owens was on the floor in agony just inside the establishment.

“Just who are you, young lady?”


	3. An Unexpected Meeting

Samma was sitting at the kitchen table, illuminated by the afternoon sun, while they did some more in depth research into the possibility of a One residing on Remnant. Due to the significantly lower amount of information intake from before, there was little fear of being rendered unconscious by the experience. This time, however, SAM was intruding on private databases, breaking through the security with varying amounts of difficulty. Some were extremely rudimentary, but others would take hours to break through. One such database was that of one Headmaster Ozpin, last name unknown.

He had been cited as a highly influential figure within Vale by multiple online sources, and so they deduced that he would undoubtedly have access to any information they were searching for. Unfortunately, his security was proving to be the best in the city, perhaps even all of Remnant. SAM would be able to break through, it was only a matter of time, but that time was estimated to be a full two days of constant work, and during that time SAM would be totally unavailable to her in any way. Even his voice was absent, leaving her totally alone. This must have been what he felt while she had been unconscious and in the hospital.

This left her vulnerable, and she would have remained hidden in the house for the remaining day, as he started this process in the early morning, were it not for her need of food. She would have to acquire some in some way, but since she was wanted by the local authorities, she would have to be discreet about it. She knew about a grocery store nearby that would be able to provide her with food, but she could not risk being recognized by anyone in there during the day. So, she elected to sneak in at night and steal some. She would only take enough to feed herself, and she doubted the food would be sorely missed.

She waited in the house until night had fallen before sneaking out, grabbing a knife from the kitchen for self defence, a backpack from one of the bedrooms for extra storage, and pulling her hood up to conceal her face. She exited through the backdoor, as there was a fairly busy road in front of the house. She slunk through the alleys, careful to not be spotted, and she soon exited out into the employee parking of the store. The building was large, and she was sure someone would have been careless and left a window unlocked.

She tested the back door, and wasn’t surprised to find it locked. She noticed the door was locked with an electronic lock, sporting both a keyhole and a keypad. She furrowed her brow, realizing SAM would make this very easy, but she moved on from it quickly. She looked up at the high windows and noticed one was open a bit, the gap just big enough for her to slip her hands through. If she could hang from there, she could push the window fully open and climb inside.

She backed up to give herself a running start, but stopped when she heard the distinct flutter of wings. She looked toward the noise and saw a crow perched atop a street lamp whose light had burnt out. She could sense great curiosity within it, but that was typical of most crows. They stared at each other for a moment before Emma snapped out of it and looked back toward the window. She began sprinting towards it and jumped up, latching onto the windowsill. She hoisted herself up and pushed the window inwards, giving her more room. She sat on the sill and looked down, and saw nothing but the hard marble floor with nothing to break her fall. Knowing there was no other way, she held her breath and fell down. Upon hitting the ground, she heard a pop from her ankle and her legs gave out, causing her knees to hit the floor. She hissed in barely contained pain as she lay on her side, clutching her ankle. After a minute, she lifted her pant leg and saw the damage. It didn’t look sprained, but it would hurt to put pressure on it for a while. She stood up, being forced to limp slightly as she walked, and looked around. She was in a cargo unloading area, but she needed to be in the aisles.

She didn’t pay attention to what was around her as she made her way to the aisles. She eventually found a food aisle and began taking snacks, though her hurt ankle was slowing her down. She grabbed whatever would be enough for her to last and put them in her bag. They ranged from fruits and vegetables to pastries to even a few bags of chips. As she was debating whether or not to take some bottles of pain medication with her, she heard a slight noise to her left, causing her to whip around in that direction, draw her knife and point it at whoever was there. Leaning against one of the shelves was an older looking man, with slightly greying hair and an even slighter stubble. The weapon strapped to his lower back confirmed his status as a Huntsman. But what was curious about him was that she didn’t detect any hostile intent, only that same curiosity from the crow outside. She put two and two together and realized she had to be more careful.

“And what are you doing here so late?” He asked, a slight playfulness in his voice.

“I only need food, sir.” She said, but his brow furrowed at that.

“Just you? Where’s your buddy you alluded to while you were chatting with Officer Owens?” He asked, his curiosity growing.

“He isn’t here right now.” She responded simply.

“Oh yeah? And where is he?” He looked over his shoulder, unsure if this was a trap, but from what Ozpin had told him about her, it was probably more complex than that.

“What do you want? If you intend to take me to the police, then I will resist.” She knew there wasn’t much she could do with her knife, but if she could make skin on skin contact with him, she could instantly end the fight. He chuckled.

“Relax, I’m not here to bring you in. Someone just wants me to bring you to him so he can have a chat with you, that’s all.” She couldn’t sense any deceit on him, and that combined with his lack of hostile intent led her to believe he didn’t wish her any harm. The person he wanted her to meet, on the other hand, was an entirely different story.

“I sense you’re telling the truth, so I’ll go with you. But I’m still wary of whoever it is you want me to meet.” She put her knife away, but winced when she tried to take a step forward, causing him to look at her with concern.

“Don’t worry, it will heal on its own.” She brushed it off, but he wasn’t so easily dissuaded.

“Yeah, but it’ll slow us down.” He jerked his head towards a nearby chair. “Sit down. I’ll heal it with my Aura.” She nodded before limping over and taking a seat. He kneeled down in front of her and placed his hands around the wounded limb. A glow began to emanate from his palms and the pain subsided almost immediately. After a minute, they both stood back up and she put some pressure on her foot. It had been fully healed, though Emma wasn’t surprised by any of that.

“There, you should be good to go now. Put all the stolen food back, and we’ll be on our way.”

**Some time later**

Qrow and Emma walked through Beacon Academy, the halls silent as the students slept. Initiation had just ended, and their first classes were to begin come dawn. She assumed she would be meeting with Headmaster Ozpin due to their location, and she hoped he would not attempt to coerce her into working for him. Though ultimately, that would depend on the outcome of this meeting. As they walked, Qrow had been messaging Ozpin, informing him of her ability to seemingly gaze into one’s heart and discern whether or not their intentions would bring her harm. That ability could be a boon, but could also backfire if she asked the wrong questions, or Ozpin chose to be untruthful.

They arrived at the elevator to the Headmaster’s office, and got inside before pressing the button for the top floor. The doors slid shut and they waited for the elevator to reach its destination. Emma weirded Qrow out a bit. Not due to her apparent numerous Semblances, but because of her general mannerisms. She had always been reported to speak as if referring to numerous people, but now suddenly she spoke only of herself. Not to mention her lack of any major emotion, and she seemed more robotic than human.

The elevator slowed to a stop and the doors opened, giving Emma a clear view of the interior of the office. To call it excessive would be an understatement. It was massive and the walls and ceiling were translucent, allowing her to see the clockwork mechanisms contained within. She couldn’t discern their purpose, and so figured they were unnecessary decoration. As for the Headmaster, he was seated behind his desk, patiently sipping a cup of coffee, a stern looking woman she didn’t recognize standing next to him.

“Ah, so you’ve arrived.” He smiled genuinely, but she could sense hesitation behind it. This man was not what he seemed. Then again, neither was she. “Please, take a seat.” He gestured to a chair in front of his desk and she sat down, though Qrow remained standing.

“What do you want from me?” She asked directly, not beating around the bush. He chuckled and took another sip before setting down the steaming mug.

“Straight to the point, hm?” He leaned forward in his chair slightly. “What is your name, young lady?”

“I am Emma.” Her answer surprised him just as much as it had Qrow. Not her name, necessarily, but the fact she referred to herself as a singular person. It was something Qrow had failed to inform him about.

“Just you? I was under the assumption you were working with multiple people.” Her expression didn’t change as she answered.

“He isn’t with me at the moment, but will be soon.” Ozpin raised a brow at that.

“And who is this ‘he’? Your friend? An accomplice?” He tried digging a little deeper, but that proved to be a mistake.

“What are your intentions for us?” She focused on him as if reading, and he knew what she was doing. It didn’t seem like she could read minds, but at the very least, she could tell when someone was lying with perfect accuracy. There was no manipulating her, at least not easily. His face hardened, as there was no point in dancing around the subject.

“I’ve seen the footage of your Semblance. Or, should I say, Semblances.” She had no reaction to what should have been a panicking revelation. The fact that her little secret was now known by a highly influential figure should’ve made her sweat, but she was acting as if he had merely told her it was raining. “I have been thus far successful in keeping this footage out of the hands of the authorities, but that can change if you refuse my offer. Should this footage be released, you will become a highly wanted fugitive across Remnant, as you would be the first person in history with multiple Semblances.”

So he was trying to manipulate her. In a day, when SAM has finished his work and has obtained Ozpin’s information, the tables will turn in a way he would surely not expect.

“And what would that offer be?” Ozpin leaned back in his chair.

“Before I answer that, tell me. Do you believe in fairy tales?” He asked with a slight smirk.


	4. Obsolete

Emma laid on the bed in her room as she processed everything Ozpin had told her. After telling her of the existence of the Maidens, of which her and SAM had already suspected were real, he offered her a place in his little circle. When asked, he said it was because he saw the potential in her to do great good, but she saw right through it. She knew it was because of her “Dual Semblance”. When he questioned her about SAM, she managed to make him believe he was simply a hallucination that she believed was real. He wasn’t the only one who could play with peoples’ minds.

He had given her this vacant student bedroom for her to sleep until they got something more suitable together, and come morning she would have to spar with Glynda to test her combat prowess. Contrary to what they might believe, she had been trained to be an astronaut, not a fighter, so she wasn’t sure how that would turn out. SAM was only three hours away from cracking open Ozpin’s digital security, and once he did, they would figure out what to do from there.

As she waited, she decided to have a look around her room. She would’ve explored the school, but she knew Ozpin would have set up some sort of surveillance outside her room, so she didn’t bother. The room was very bland, with nothing more than a bed, a dresser and a door leading to the bathroom. There was also a window, but it was, predictably, locked. She was practically a prisoner, and she was beginning to regret going along with this. Since she had nothing else to do, she figured she should at least take a shower to wash out the dirt and grime her body had collected over the days. She hasn’t had one in so long.

**-X-**

Right as she was about to turn in for the night after taking the shower, she felt SAM instantly re-enter her mind as he cracked Ozpin’s encryption and copied all of his data, while at the same time resyncing their knowledge. And they had been right, Ozpin was so much more than what he had appeared. Immortal rivals? A queen of Grimm? Powerful relics hidden beneath each of the four academies? It was so much information, but there was one thing that stood out.

Ozpin had been receiving reports from deep within the desert of Vacuo of people disappearing in large groups from frontier towns. That alone wasn’t that interesting, but it was what the few survivors who would return would say that piqued interest. They spoke of a large obsidian monolith shaped like a hexagon partially buried within the sand. It would call to them in incoherent whispers, and they’d see random symbols appear out of thin air before disappearing shortly after. Anyone who got too close would suddenly disappear beneath the sands and never be seen again. Along with that, any electronics in the area would go haywire and cease working, sometimes outright exploding.

The authorities in the area never took it seriously, and just chalked it up to them being traumatized from a Grimm attack, but the Headmaster of Shade, Theodore, was no fool. He got into contact with Ozpin and requested assistance, and investigating the reports had been Qrow’s mission before that changed into him tracking them down. All this information led them to one conclusion.

“We need to leave.” They said. They immediately went to the window to test how strong the lock was. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like they’d be able to brute force it, at least not without something like a crowbar to leverage it.

They went to the door, but realized they’d be spotted on the cameras if they burst out. They placed their hand on the electronic lock, giving SAM access. Luckily, all the locks to the student dorms could be remotely unlocked through the security room, which also had access to the cameras. Within seconds, SAM had unlocked the door while also freezing the cameras, making it appear they were recording empty hallways. They slipped out of the door and began making their way down the hall, careful not to make a sound. Transport to Vacuo wouldn’t be a problem if they could make it to the Bullhead dock, because then SAM would be able to take control of one and fly them to their destination.

As they rounded a corner, they had the strange feeling of being watched. Though they couldn’t detect anyone, they were still careful. Luckily for them, it seemed everyone was asleep or in their rooms, leaving the halls completely empty. They reached the dock and saw the pilot leaning against the large aircraft, smoking a cigarette. Not wanting to risk him reporting them, they quickly ran out of cover and made a beeline towards him.

“Wow, what the-?!” He was shocked by their appearance and hesitated to pull his pistol, which gave them enough time to get close enough. They grabbed his bare hand and Emma used her Gift to instantly kill him. His body hit the floor and they ran into the Bullhead, not a moment to spare.

They entered the cockpit and pressed their hand on the control board, giving SAM complete control over the airship. He disengaged from the dock and lowered enough so they could fly away before doing exactly that and escaping the Academy. Emma took her hand off the console, SAM leaving a small bit of him behind to autopilot the Bullhead to the Vacuo town of Viper Fang, right in the center of these disappearances.

They sat down on one of the seats and began to feel tired as the adrenaline wore off. Emma slept in the seat while SAM mulled over this new information. Contacts, allies, enemies, they had all been listed in those data files. However, all that mattered was reaching this monolith and once again presenting themselves before the Ones. What happened beyond that would be up to the dark beings, and they would obey without question. But something felt off about this.

Delvin Wisp, the first of the survivors, hadn’t informed anyone of his experience until after more people began returning with the same tale. What was even stranger was his behavior. While the other survivors were borderline manic and had to be sent to a mental institution, he began isolating himself from the rest of society, speaking to no one and rarely leaving his house. People had begun to suspect him of having something to do with the disappearances, but nobody could prove it, so they left him to his own devices. Since everyone else was out of reach, they would have to make contact with him and question him by any means necessary. Sam continued analyzing the data while Emma slept as they travelled, going over the known strengths and weaknesses of all of Ozpin’s allies and Salem’s known ones. And there were many.

**-x-**

As they neared Viper Fang, they landed the Bullhead in the desert far enough away from the town so as not to attract attention and made the rest of the trek on foot through the desert. Luckily, there were no Grimm nearby, so the relatively short trip went by without issue, though they were beginning to somewhat regret their choice of clothing. As they neared the town, they saw it was surrounded by a short stone wall, completely devoid of guards, likely only good at keeping out lesser Beowolves and similar types of Grimm. There was a wooden gate reinforced with steel rivets protecting the town, connected to the faint road. But next to it was a smaller door more likely used for individual people. It was of a similar style to the gate, but had a small hatch used to look through.

They approached the door and knocked, but there was no response. They knocked again, this time much harder and louder, but were left with a similar lack of response. They placed their ear right against the door and, straining to listen, could hear the faint sound of snoring. Of course the guard would be of the lazy variety. Since they had no other way in, they decided to test their luck by seeing if the guard had left the door unlocked. They grabbed the handle, went to turn it, and the door popped right open. A small part of Emma that was still human facepalmed at that. The security here was truly abysmal.

They passed the sleeping guard, a giant of a man in civilian clothing with a claymore leaning against the wall that they were thankful they didn’t have to fight, and entered the town. Looking at the map on their Scroll, the town only consisted of three small areas. The market zone, which was where they were entering, the residential zone placed just past the market, and the industrial zone where what few wares sold here were forged and was furthest from the entrance.

They walked through the market area, but were confused to see almost nobody outside. There were people inside the restaurants, but not many. And those that exited almost ran to their next destination, looking around nervously. The most likely explanation was that the disappearances had gotten worse, and people were paranoid about being the next ones to go missing.

They walked through the market, only interested in reaching the Wisp household and not paying attention to the other stores. As they entered the residential zone, they noticed all the houses looked similar, though not the same. While they had the same general structure, there were details that separated them. Some had added rooms, some had removed rooms, and some had been completely renovated. In the end, it was abundantly clear which house was Delvin’s.

In the far corner of the residential zone, just on the border of the industrial zone, sat an old decrepit house. It looked like the stereotypical haunted house, but they knew better than to let something like that put them off. The wood was black and looked to be rotting, but the house remained strong. It consisted of two stories, but the second floor had been renovated to be much bigger than normal, and there was a roofed porch connecting to the front door. There were no fences or warning signs, but the house’s foreboding appearance would be enough to dissuade most people from trespassing. Fortunately, they were not most people.

They crossed onto the lawn of overgrown grass and went to a nearby window overlooking the porch. They looked inside, but the dirt on the window combined with the darkness inside made it almost impossible to see. They decided to just knock on the front door and talk to him directly. However, when they went to knock however, they failed to notice the door was slightly ajar, and their attempt at knocking caused the door to open fully inward. They were hit by chilling air that sent shivers down the spine of whatever human remnants remained in Emma. When they didn’t receive any response, they entered the house to get a look around. The first floor was almost pitch black, making them use their Scroll flashlight to see.

Taking a quick look around, the inside was covered in dust, cobwebs and rat droppings. It was like nobody had lived here in years. There was a kitchen that was devoid of everything except the appliances, a living room with nothing but a TV and a wooden chair in front of it, and a locked bathroom that smelled of rot. They found the stairs to the second floor and were relieved to see it was mostly illuminated by some kind of light source. While the floorboards on the ground floor had been rock solid, the stairs creaked and groaned with every step. But another lack of noise all but confirmed that Delvin wasn’t home.

The stairs emptied out into a long hallway lined with doors, though each and every one of them was boarded up heavily and had a lit candle holder above them. All except for the one at the end of the hall, which was coloured a deep black, a stark contrast to the faded red of all the other doors. They walked to the door and, finding it to be unlocked, opened it. Inside was a single very large chest alongside a torch sconce, though the torch itself had long since gone cold. Luckily, there was a single window clean enough to let in moonlight. Wait, moonlight?

They did a double take as they looked outside and saw it was the dead of night, and not midday like it had been when they had arrived. Did the house have the power to distort the perception of time, like the Ones, but much weaker? It didn’t matter right now. Looking back to make sure nobody was behind them, they turned back to the chest. It didn’t have a lock, which was why they were surprised when they felt a bit of resistance upon trying to open it. It was like someone had put a weak glue along the ridge. But when they looked inside, they realized why it was like that.

It was almost filled to the brim with heads in various states of decay, and the lip of the chest was coated in old blood that they hadn’t noticed. Some heads were just skulls, while others looked fresh, but they all had a hexagon deeply carved into their foreheads, to the point it went down to the bone. The smell hit them like a freight train, and Emma felt a brief moment of panic before SAM’s influence crushed it. That was when they realized the candles were no longer casting shadows on them.

They whirled around and saw a man standing in the doorway. He was tall, easily 7 feet, and shirtless. Despite his height, he looked almost malnourished, like he hadn’t eaten in weeks, and his jeans looked old and raggedy. There wasn’t a strand of hair on his head, his skin was almost as white as paper and his piercing blue eyes bore into Emma’s soul. He had a calm expression on his face, but his eyes were wide. Then he spoke in a voice much more intimidating than his figure.

“And so you’ve seen it.” He entered fully and closed the door behind him. “I heard the call, much like how these poor souls heard it as well.” He frowned slightly as he gestured to the bloody chest. “But not one of them was worthy of being chosen like I have, and thus I was made to get rid of them.” In an instant he was upon them, lifting them by their shirt. “And soon, your soul will serve my masters in the void, as mine will one day.” They grabbed his wrist, intent on using her gift to kill the mad man, but what happened instead shocked both of them. They froze as they both received a vision, a vision of the desert One, pulsing with power even as it was separated from its fellow gods. And a series of symbols flashed before their vision, calling them to it.

The vision ended and Delvin dropped her, a wide grin across his face.

“You. You are their prophet!” His demeanor changed completely, as he paced about the room, letting them pick themselves off the dusty floor. “How could I have been so foolish, I should have recognized the energy of two beings.” He turned to them, still smiling. “I apologize, as I should have recognized your Aura.”

“The One has called us to it.” They spoke, the previous events being rendered obsolete.

“Of course. Come, it is still dark out, and the Grimm would not dare attack the children of their superiors.” He left the room and almost ran down the hall. This sudden shift in attitude surprised them, but at least he wasn’t trying to kill them anymore. He followed them out of the house, and they realized how quiet he was. Even with his erratic movements, his bare feet didn’t make a sound on the ground. He had also stopped talking, so as to not bring any attention to them.

They left the town through the door by the gate, the guard now gone, and went into the desert. They could feel its power drawing them toward it, so they already knew the way. As they walked through the darkened desert, they could see the red eyes of Grimm watching them from the dunes, though none made a move to approach.

“What was in the bathroom?” They asked as they walked.

Delvin chuckled. “Where do you think the bodies of the heads went?” He answered, making it clear. They stopped any further questions after that.

They crested a dune and saw it. A One, quarter buried in the sand, and but just as glorious as ever. It pulsed with power, like it had in their vision, and they approached. When they were but feet away, Delvin kneeled before it while Samma remained standing. After a minute of waiting, it stopped, and all went silent. Then, they lifted in the air in the same manner from when Emma and SAM had been first merged. They hovered for a moment, staring into pitch blackness of the powerful being, before clutching her head and screaming as the most agonizing pain she’d ever felt coursed through her skull. She felt SAM’s influence begin to slip away, and realized he was being ripped from her mind. Next to her, Delvin did the same, but instead of screams, he howled with laughter as he suddenly arched his spine and his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

When the transfer was complete, they were unceremoniously dropped to the ground as the being left one final message in Emma’s mind.

**YOU ARE NOW OBSOLETE**

She groaned in pain as she realized she was free of their control, her humanity no longer being suppressed by SAM. She scrambled to her feet and looked over at Delvin as he slowly rose from the ground. He stood to his full height and locked his gaze on her, looking like her when she was under his control.

“You served us well, Ms. Fisher.” He said, his voice sounding exactly like SAM’s, indicating Delvin was no longer even in there. “But you are now a liability. I apologize for what must be done.” He began approaching her, and she backed away.

“S-stay the fuck away from me!” She screamed in terror, getting used to finally having her own thoughts. There was a faint flutter of wings and someone she was glad to see dropped down in front of her. It was Qrow with his weapon drawn, he must’ve followed them here.

“Your interference here will not be tolerated.” SAM warned, his face still totally neutral.

“Listen, I’m already confused by whatever the hell is going on here, but from what I can tell, you need to be taken in.” He said with a slight snarl. SAM faintly smiled before responding.

“It would seem this body’s Gift is far more useful than Ms. Fisher’s.” As he said this, he began to change. His flesh began to disintegrate and his skeleton turned as black as a Grimm. He grew another foot and his arms elongated to unnatural proportions. His hands and feet grew large, deadly sharp claws and a bony tail sprouted from the base of his spine. He had transformed into an 8 foot tall skeleton of death, a prime enforcer of the Ones’ will. While his eyes had disappeared, they had been replaced with two white spots, so small they could barely see them.

“Run to the Bullhead, I’ll catch up.” He ordered her, transforming his weapon into a scythe. The beast shrieked an unholy cry before getting on all fours and pouncing at Qrow like an animal. And Emma ran. Ran faster than she had ever ran in her life. She was now free, but she doubted Qrow could kill that thing. She had to get back to Ozpin, try and get his help. She just hoped he would be wise enough to flee as well.

What the hell has happened to her life?


	5. Anaal Nathrakh

Qrow’s eyes widened in surprise as SAM, no, the creature lunged at him while shrieking. It caught him off guard and he jumped to the side, dodging its claws. He swung horizontally at it with his scythe, but it caught the blade between its claws and tried to wrench it out of his hands. He swept its legs out from under it and broke its grasp. He went to stab it in the skull, since there was no visible heart to destroy, or any internal organs of any sort, but it skittered away, making these vile clicking noises as it did so.

This thing acted feral, but there was still intelligence behind its eyes. It knew perfectly well what it was doing as it stood there momentarily, analyzing him. As it lunged forward once more, he transformed Harbinger into its shotgun form and blasted it square in the chest, sending it flying backwards and tumbling through the sand, stopping on its stomach, completely still. He watched it for a moment to confirm it was dead, and when it remained still, its jaw slacked open, he breathed a sigh of relief as he folded up Harbinger and hooked it on his lower back.

_ That was surprisingly easy.  _ He thought. Looking towards the monolith, he was confused to see it had disappeared entirely, the only thing remaining being the indent in the sand where it had once been.

“How the hell?” He briefly wondered before shaking his head. He’d drive himself mad trying to figure any of this out.

He turned his attention back to the creature and began walking towards it. It hadn’t started disintegrating, but since this was the result of SAM’s Semblance, or “Gift” as he’d called it, that made sense. Despite the heavy appearance of a Grimm, it wasn’t one. He arrived at where its corpse laid and rolled it over, hand on Harbinger in case it had only been pretending. When it made no reaction and he saw the light in its eyes had gone out, he concluded it was fully dead.

He examined the corpse closely, noting the ribs where he’d shot it. There were scorch marks from the Fire Dust, but no real damage, which confused him. He figured Ozpin would appreciate it if he brought the corpse to him. Maybe they’d be able to find some sort of specific weakness in case more of these unholy creatures existed.

He hefted it onto his shoulder before beginning to lug it towards the Bullhead to meet with Emma. That poor girl must’ve been under the control of SAM the whole time and the monolith transferred him into that other guy. Then everything happened, and he had a helluva story to tell Tai the next time he saw him. He heard a faint noise from behind him and he turned his head around to see what it was. He damn near shit himself when he saw the creature had raised its head and was staring him right in the face with those dead, haunting eyes.

He felt its claws enter his side, seemingly ignoring his Aura and sending him to the ground. He groaned in pain as he clutched his wound, the emotional pain being almost as bad as the physical as he realized he’d been tricked. The strike had been meant to be crippling rather than fatal, otherwise he was sure it would’ve simply taken his head off. He looked up and saw it standing over him, still making those clicking noises. It got on all fours and crawled over him, never breaking eye contact. It grabbed his blood soaked hand and stared at it intently, focusing on the blood. Then it opened its jaw just enough for a long, glowing red tongue to slither forth and slowly lick his hand, like it was savoring the taste of his life force.

As it did so, the roar of a Bullhead being started up swept over the desert, causing the creature to retract its tongue and snap its head in the sound’s direction. As if remembering what it was meant to do, it shrieked and began bounding towards the Bullhead, and Emma, on all fours, leaving him to bleed out.

He struggled to his feet, still holding his side. He raised his shirt to get a look at the wound, and didn’t like what he saw. It didn’t seem to be deep enough to be fatal, but it also seemed that whatever its claws were made of it was severely slowing his Aura’s ability to heal the stab. Realizing he didn’t have time, he transformed into a crow and took off in the direction of Emma, hoping he’d be able to fly faster than the creature could run.

**X-X**

Emma stood at the open bay door, waiting anxiously for Qrow to arrive. She doubted he’d be able to kill SAM, but she hoped he’d at least be able to slow him down enough to escape. As she waited in silence, aside from the rumble of the Bullhead’s engines, she thought on everything she’d been through. She had to get back to Ozpin one way or another and explain as much as she could. About her, about Earth, about SAM, and most importantly the Ones.

She was brought out of her thoughts when she saw something in the distance. She couldn't quite make out what it was, but it seemed to be making a beeline for her. She stood up and placed her hand on the switch for the ramp, ready to close it should it be SAM. Right then, a bloody crow swooped in through the opening and transformed into a badly injured Qrow.

“Close the ramp!” He cut her off before stumbling up the ramp. She obeyed and pulled the switch, allowing the ramp to shut at an agonizingly slow rate. Right when it was about to fully close, SAM got close enough to lunge forward and grab onto the edge, wrapping his claws around the lip of it. Fortunately, this ended up backfiring. While his claws momentarily wedged the ramp open, the pressure from the hydraulics eventually became too much and his claws snapped off, clattering to the floor. She could hear shrieks and loud bangs from outside and even as the Bullhead took off after Qrow set the autopilot, though they sounded more rageful than pained.

He stumbled back in from the cockpit, trailing blood, and sat down in one of the seats. Seeing in her eyes she wanted to help, he waved her off.

“My Aura may have been slowed, but it’ll still heal eventually.” He panted. Listening to him, she sat down in the seat opposite him. After fifteen minutes but what felt like an hour, Qrow spoke up.

“You wanna explain to me exactly what the fuck that thing was?” He still sounded strained, but it wasn’t as bad as before. She didn’t answer at first, but eventually she spoke up.

“It’d be better if I explained everything to both you and Ozpin when we get back.” She reasoned, and was met with a sigh before he dug his Scroll out of his pocket.

“I’ll just call him, let him know what happened.” He called the Headmaster and began explaining what he could as Emma zoned out, looking through the window to the dark desert. Despite everything that’s happened, at least she was now free.

**X-X**

SAM shrieked in pain and rage as his prey escaped, though her freedom would be short lived. He had become the vile embodiment of violence and hatred, he would not let her go for long. He looked at his severed claws as they began to rapidly regenerate from the damage. His mind was still muddied by the rage, and so his sights were next set on the town of Viper Fang, the closest source of blood for miles around, and the next outlet for his anger.

But before he could charge towards the town and begin the bloodbath, he heard something behind him. His head almost literally snapped in the direction of the sound and he was met with the sight of a small pack of Beowolves, the Alpha nowhere in sight. Then something he didn’t expect to see emerged from the group.

It looked like a crystal ball attached to a platform of spikes and barbed tendrils. He recognized it, as it’d been an urban legend spoken of only in the most remote of places, though it had no official name. As it approached, the bone plates covering the ball moved to the bottom, showing it was filled with orange mist. He approached in turn, curious as to what it would try. Perhaps he could sever one of the barbs and use it to shatter the ball, releasing the mist. But that would only be the case if it proved hostile.

They stopped inches from each other, the unholy beast getting a closer look at the orb. Then the mist began to clear, showing the image of a woman that could only be described as a human-Grimm hybrid. Her skin was paler than his human form, and black veins sprouted from her eyes, which were black with red pupils. Going off his gut feeling, which was a strange thing for a person like him to have, he guessed she was the leader of the Grimm.

**“And so we finally meet, Mr. Wisp.”** She greeted through the sphere. This piqued his interest, as it showed that, despite her acting like she knew him, she had no idea what’d happened.  **“I had wanted to speak with you before, but it would seem someone got to you first.”** He chose that moment to return to human form. Starting at his feet, his flesh began reappearing, hiding the monstrosity beneath. Soon enough, he was back to looking like Delvin Wisp, though with one small physical difference. His eyes glowed faintly, but enough to notice if you looked right at them. And this seemed to tip off the woman, as her bravado gave way to suspicion. It didn’t help his mannerisms were contrasting with what Delvin was reported to be like. She was expecting a manic killer akin to Tyrian, but instead she got a cold husk of a man the likes of which she’d never seen before.

“I am not Delvin Wisp. He is dead. I am SAM.” He said simply and coldly. This caused her confusion, but she continued.

**“Well then, SAM, I am Salem, Queen of the Grimm, and it would seem our interests align. We both want the girl, Emma.”** Ah, so that’s what this was. A recruitment pitch. He figured as much, but didn’t know for sure until now. As much as he didn’t want to help her, he didn’t have much choice. As much as the Ones aided their followers, they helped primarily from behind the scenes, subtly providing help. He would need more direct aid to hunt down Emma.

“And in exchange for aiding me in my hunt, you wish for me to pledge my services to you and your cause.” It was unlikely he was the only human she’d approached.

**“My my, don’t you catch on quick.”** She said with a dark chuckle.

“I have little choice but to accept your offer, but I wish to make one thing clear. You are not my master in any way. I serve only the Ones, and our alliance is born out of mutual interests. Once Ms. Fisher is dead, that will be the end of our partnership.” He told her. She hid it well, but he could tell she was shocked that he wanted her dead. She likely thought he wanted to capture her for some nefarious purpose, but things aren’t always so complicated.

**“Very well.”** She said, any semblance of unprofessionalism destroyed.  **“You will need an alias. I have little doubt you’ll be able to sneak into even the major cities without issue, but your name will still likely be well known amongst Ozpin’s allies. Simply give me a name, and one of my underlings will take care of the rest.”** It made sense that he’d need to change his name due to the reason she stated, among others. And he wouldn’t go for something simple, he needed a name that would befit an enforcer of the Ones’ will. He remembered a band from Earth that one of the members of the old space crew enjoyed listening to. The lack of alternative languages and the intimidating name made it perfect.

“My name will be Anaal Nathrakh.” He stated, Salem nodding in response.

  
**“I will send someone to speak with you soon. He will find you, simply wait for him.”** After she said this, the orb she had been speaking through clouded up and the Grimm began leaving, along with its Beowolf entourage. He would say he’d just made a deal with the Devil, but that pact had been formed long ago, on an alien planet surrounded by death and burning wreckage.


End file.
